Just four quarter-final appearances, three of them on the spin under Sven Goran Eriksson - whose reputation is being polished and redeemed with every passing debacle.

Yet no further. No real success. Too many hard-luck stories, penalty shoot-out failures, regrets over what might have been.

Lampard was not the symbol of those failures. Far from it.

Indeed, when former FA chief executive Adam Crozier came up with the collective description of the players Eriksson was about to inherit in 2000, the then-West Ham midfielder was not really on the radar.

But when England shone, however illusory it might have been, over a decade, under four managers, he was among the brightest.

The statistics give you a hint. And not just the 106 caps and 29 goals, a tally which puts him joint-ninth in the all-time scoring charts as well as making him England’s leading midfield marksman.

Important goals, too, with 19 of them coming in his 57 competitive outings, behind only Wayne Rooney, Owen, Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer.

Often nerveless from the spot, too, converting nine of his 11 England penalties in normal play (a record) with the misses in pre-World Cup friendlies against Hungary and Japan. Holding his head together time and again.

Yet, harshly, Lampard will be remembered, perhaps more than anyone, for the things that did not quite work out.

The shoot-out miss against Portugal in Gelsenkirchen in 2006. The ‘goal that never was’ - which changed the face of football as even Sepp Blatter recognised goal-line technology had to be introduce - against Germany in Bloemfontein four years later.

And, of course, the constant, ongoing debate, which lasted 10 years, over the inability for Lampard and Gerrard to play for England as they did for their clubs, a debate which saw Scholes prematurely call time on his own international career.

Of course, the main reason, one which no England manager ever seemed to embrace, was that they never played in those same position for their clubs.

Lampard, in his Chelsea pomp, under Jose Mourinho, was the ultimate late-arriver, starting on the left of a midfield three anchored by natural holder Claude Makelele.

Apart from that brief - too brief - interlude with Owen Hargreaves, England struggled to find a player with that aptitude.

Too often it was 4-4-2, a central axis of two players who, fearful of letting down the other, were never quite able to be themselves.

As Lampard’s cousin Jamie Redknapp conceded on Tuesday: "They were both so talented, there had to be a better way to get them in the team.

"The disappointment - the shame - is that we had two of the best midfield players the country has ever produced but never quite had a manager who could get the most out of them.

"If we’d had a manager worth his salt, with the right system, they could have given us years of success. Instead, we didn’t even make one final.’’

Roy Hodgson, the last to select the duo, was far less culpable than his predecessors, inheriting a pair of 30-somethings whose bodies were understandably in decline.

Hodgson said: "Frank has been a superb representative of the English game - both as a player on the pitch and an ambassador off it. To reach in excess of 100 international caps is something very few professionals achieve and he is in exalted company. He has served the national team quite brilliantly.’’

Others agreed.

Lineker hailed "a fine player, an outstanding finisher and a credit to the game of football’’, while another former England skipper, Ray Wilkins, insisted Lampard "can go out with his head held high’’.

Explaining his "tough decision’’, Lampard added: “It is now the time to move forward.

‘’I feel very confident that with Roy Hodgson in charge, the young players that we have coming through, and the changes that are being made throughout the development of the youth system in this country, that we will have success in the future and a team that this country deserves.’’

Lampard’s departure, though, marks the end of an era.

I suspect we will not hear talk of "Golden Generations’’ for a long time to come.

England's Golden Generation - where are they now?

It was former FA chief executive Adam Crozier who came up with the description that actually proved England’s greatest burden. But with Frank Lampard’s international retirement, Mirror Sport looks at the men who failed to live up to those lofty expectations:

DAVID BECKHAM

Caps: 115. Goals: 17. Games as captain 59

Beckham’s global tour ended in Los Angeles, but his project to launch a MLS side in Miami appear to have been stymied by planning chiefs.

Highlight: Greece, Old Trafford, 2001. The free-kick that made him a national icon.

SOL CAMPBELL

Caps: 73. Goals: 1. Games as captain: 3

Former centre-half has become a voice for disaffected black players in recent months, but surely has a coaching role to play.

Highlight: His only international goal that counted (two were controversially chalked off) against Sweden in the 2002 World Cup opener.

ASHLEY COLE

Caps: 107. Goals: 0. Games as captain: 1

Wrongly overlooked by Roy Hodgson for this summer's World Cup and now starting a new and final chapter of his career in Italy with Roma after being released by Chelsea.

Highlight: His duel with Cristiano Ronaldo at the Stadium of Light in Euro 2004. Two hours of brilliance.

RIO FERDINAND

Caps: 81. Goals: 3. Games as captain: 7

Now back in London with Queens Park Rangers after his Manchester United contract was not renewed. Had one to forget at Spurs on Sunday.

Highlight: The 2002 World Cup displays that brought him international acclaim – and that move to Old Trafford.

STEVEN GERRARD

Caps: 114. Goals: 21. Games as captain: 38

Left Hodgson looking for a new skipper last month when he made the inevitable decision to end his international career to concentrate on Liverpool duties.

Highlight: The Wembley double that vanquished Croatian ghosts and ensured a place at the 2010 World Cup.

FRANK LAMPARD

Caps: 106. Goals: 29. Games as captain: 8

It's still hard to get your head round the idea of him wearing a Manchester City shirt, but discount the midfielder making an impact at your peril

Highlight: Some will say the ‘goal that never was’ against Germany at the 2010 World Cup. Lampard would surely point to the goals against France, Croatia and Portugal in Euro 2004.

MICHAEL OWEN

Caps: 89. Goals: 40. Games as captain: 8

Now a television pundit and racehorse trainer after finally accepting the injury-plagued inevitable following a difficult season at Stoke.

Highlight: Stunning hat-trick to destroy Germany in Munich in 2001.

GARY NEVILLE

Caps: 85. Goals: 0. Games as captain: 0

The new voice of Sky Sports, master of the studio gizmos and devastating critiques - as well as an assistant to England boss Roy Hodgson.

Highlight: Euro 96 - that run and cross for Alan Shearer’s brilliant opener against Scotland.

PAUL SCHOLES

Caps: 66 Goals: 14. Games as captain 0

Football’s silent assassin has found his voice in the media recent months, surfacing as a trenchant pundit after being allowed to leave Manchester United.